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| Fair Use and Internet is good for Artists This is the same Jack Valenti that testified before Congress in April 1982: "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." The technology he wanted to ban now represents the bulk of film revenues.
It is certainly true changes in technology will have a dramatic effect on established businesses. Digital technology makes it easy to exchange perfect copies of digital material. Digital technology reduces distribution cost from producer to user to almost to zero. When that sort of sea change occurs it tends to spur new business activity -- while at the same time rendering existing business models obsolete.
As the quote above shows -- Hollywood has continuously tried to thwart new technology from the player piano, radio, VCR, Digital Audio Tape, ad nauseum out of fear it would impact profit. Zero cost distribution ought to allow artists to interact more directly with their audiences, while reducing the value of the middlemen that the MPAA and RIAA represent. The RIAA and MPAA are frantically trying to roll back technology to preserve their monopoly control over the distribution channel.
I applaud the protection of fair-use rights. In it in the best interest of society to implement leaky copyright protection. |
